Gratitude in Planning Ahead

I've talked previously about planning ahead to make sure you are prepared for your runs and how you can apply that to your everyday routine to avoid surprises in your day.  This week, I planned ahead so that I was able to completely enjoy the late season snow that was predicted for the pre-dawn hours.  You see, we had an unusually long warm stretch for a week earlier this month.  I cautiously reveled in the sun and near 60 degree temps as did everyone else.  (It's always so much fun to see how the outdoor population increases so dramatically on these short warm spurts.)  In addition to fully taking part of as much outdoor activity to boost my vitamin D levels as I could, I kept in mind that I do live in Wisconsin and on occasion it does snow as late as April.  I saw this week that we were to get a snow overnight Tuesday.  I generally run at 5am.  While many others I came into contact with yesterday were complaining about the snow, I tried to redirect them to the forecast of 47 degrees today.  That's means the although it would be cooler at night and yes snow would fall, it would also melt.  Early this morning, I got out my cleats for my shoes and headed out.  The snow was so beautiful!  The temp was 30 degrees, for a winter runner this is amazing weather.  I was warm, lightly dressed and comfortable.  The snow continued to fall as I ran through a silent, fresh winter wonderland.  I rested assured that later today, this would all melt and we would still be on our way to Spring.  I had the best of both worlds!  I had my cake and ate it too!  Thus, the power of knowledge and preparation enabled me to truly bask in the splendor and beauty of the early morning snow and fully appreciate the times the snow has peaked out to warm us today.